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[ted_one]

I took my Red MV6 along to a classic car show in Colchester a week or so ago, and alongside a fully liveried police omega and a Stienmetz Omega courtesy of James Waddington, plus a Lotus Carlton and a Carlton estate, you would be surprised at the interest generated by these cars, and the amount of times I was asked to step away from my car so that pictures could be taken.This was the same for the other cars in the line up, classics? perhaps not,but still drawing enough interest to make it worthwhile making an effort to prep a car and take it along, albeit to take people on a trip down memory lane

[Mags53]

I love my Omega CDX estate, 2003 so no where near to being a classic and will be very sad to see it go next week when I part ex it but I can't work on it myself & starting to show its age.

[Bojan]

Not a classic, but I think the MFL was the pinnacle of Vx/Opel's achievements.

Now that's one unbiased opinion 

[tunnie]

Not a classic, but I think the MFL was the pinnacle of Vx/Opel's achievements.

Now that's one unbiased opinion 

Anyone would think it's the pinnacle of all automotive design and engineering 

[Bojan]

Jokes aside - IMO, carltons and senators (of all generations) had more style than omega. However, omega is far more better and rafined car.
Also, PFL was quite nice car in mid 90s. Interior was great. Outside, some parts are not best designed and 'feel' cheap and not sturdy IMO (front bumper, side skirts).
FLs, on the other hand, are too much modifed to keep up with then current design, that it is almost new design (probably that's why many call it Omega C). IMO, it was learning old dog new tricks.

[Doctor Gollum]

Jokes aside - IMO, carltons and senators (of all generations) had more style than omega. However, omega is far more better and rafined car.
Also, PFL was quite nice car in mid 90s. Interior was great. Outside, some parts are not best designed and 'feel' cheap and not sturdy IMO (front bumper, side skirts).
FLs, on the other hand, are too much modifed to keep up with then current design, that it is almost new design (probably that's why many call it Omega C). IMO, it was learning old dog new tricks.

Bah, FL changes are all cosmetic... structure of car identical to pfl/mfl, as were the engines initially

[Bojan]

Jokes aside - IMO, carltons and senators (of all generations) had more style than omega. However, omega is far more better and rafined car.
Also, PFL was quite nice car in mid 90s. Interior was great. Outside, some parts are not best designed and 'feel' cheap and not sturdy IMO (front bumper, side skirts).
FLs, on the other hand, are too much modifed to keep up with then current design, that it is almost new design (probably that's why many call it Omega C). IMO, it was learning old dog new tricks.

Bah, FL changes are all cosmetic... structure of car identical to pfl/mfl, as were the engines initially

Yes, as I said, ot looks very different than PFL. And the interior is quite modified.
Much more design modifications than was usual for a facelift for GM at that time.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Yep.  much more.

What people forget is that the Omega already had a facelift, what we now retrospectively call the 'MFL' - for '97 it got new interior colours, seat fabrics, new colours, new alloy wheel styles, new headlamp units, revised trim levels, additions to the range (the MV6 started life just as a special edition, but due to demand became a regular list model) as well as some styling tweaks (the Elites gained spoiler and grille) that was plenty for the standards of a 'facelift' of the day.

The Omega was actually ready for replacement in 2000, having served the industry standard 6 years. Instead Vauxhall/Opel spent a ruddy fortune upgrading the whole car, for 'only' another 3 years (some cars registered in '04, though)

[Kevin Wood]

Although the Omega was mechanically superior to the Senator (although there was something about the character of the straight 6 that the V6 never captured) I think the Senator's interior felt a much more special place to be, and the car stood out as something special from the exterior too. The rot set in when there was no longer the Carlton-Senator distinction between the 4 pots / tractors and the prestige 6 cylinder cars, IMHO, and they rolled it all into the Omega.

PFL, MFL Omegas got a standard plastic Vauxhall interior, not far off what would have been found in a chavalier / astra of the period and the FL got the Vectra feel inside with that unremarkable Astra 4 grille on the outside.

Selling this against Merc / BMW as a prestige car wasn't ever going to work for long.

Ford went way too weird with the Scorpio. Vauxhall went way too humdrum with the Omega, IMHO. The death knell of the RWD luxury saloon, unless you could bring yourself to drive a panzerwagen.

[tunnie]

Cost of the full FL in late 99, was a fraction of the cost of a new car. GM probably knew they would retire that RWD platform, so fairly small cost to them could see the FL go on for a few more years.

[Kevin Wood]

Cost of the full FL in late 99, was a fraction of the cost of a new car. GM probably knew they would retire that RWD platform, so fairly small cost to them could see the FL go on for a few more years.

I don't know about that. I reckon it just coincided with BMW and Merc cheapening their base models and all the company car drivers flocked for the prestige badges. GM also had a V8 Omega in the pipeline, remember.

[tunnie]

Cost of the full FL in late 99, was a fraction of the cost of a new car. GM probably knew they would retire that RWD platform, so fairly small cost to them could see the FL go on for a few more years.

I don't know about that. I reckon it just coincided with BMW and Merc cheapening their base models and all the company car drivers flocked for the prestige badges. GM also had a V8 Omega in the pipeline, remember.

True I had forgot about that, but it could not have been a snap decision. They must have known they would stop making it around 2001/2002, or at least strongly considered it

They had the market to themselves for budget RWD, now Ford and Rover had gone.

[Kevin Wood]

They had the market to themselves for budget RWD, now Ford and Rover had gone.

Yes but maybe that can be better explained by the fact that that market had simply disappeared?

[tunnie]

They had the market to themselves for budget RWD, now Ford and Rover had gone.

Yes but maybe that can be better explained by the fact that that market had simply disappeared?

Omega still sold in good numbers in F/L, so would suggest there still was something there. Maybe less so in Euroland 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

That was the tragedy, the ''poor mans ----- '' market was disappearing year-on-year. I think I mentioned this in another thread recently, that with more people buying BMW 3-series than Mondeos, the 'Inspirational Britain' thing is well in force. No-one wants to buy a car like an Omega which does everything that the Prestige badged car does - they just buy the prestige badged car in the first place. Even if it is a base model, with half the spec of the equivalent Vauxhall/Ford etc. They're happy with the badge, and can act all snooty to the neighbours.

It's like people who buy an A-Class, or an Audi A1, etc really do think they're buying a car as expensive and exclusive as an SLR, R8 etc...

If memory serves the cost of the Omega facelift was £180mill, compared with Jag who spent £90million on the 'new' X300 in 1994, which was a heavy reskin of the XJ40. Ok, a nowadays modern 'all-new' car is about a £billion. Opel spent apparently 2 Billion Marks (about £880 million) on the Carlton.

So the Omega facelift was sort of big money, sort of cheap, depending on your perspective, and what you think you are getting for your money, so to speak.